Exemplary embodiments relate generally to repository contents, and more particularly, to methods, systems and computer program products for providing subscription services to provide notification when metadata in a repository is modified.
Metadata has traditionally been defined as “data about data” or “information about information” and may be thought of as information that classifies and/or describes an object. Metadata may describe data, information and/or knowledge. Today, with the advent of technologies such as hypermedia and heuristically based searching and indexing, a new, broader, more generic definition of metadata has been emerging. This definition includes the traditional concepts, but it adds the concepts of existence, perspective, modeling and topicality. The expanded definition recognizes that much, if not most, of enterprise data is not found in traditional relational database management systems (RDMS), but rather, it is found in the myriad technological assets and views of those assets that exist at any point in time. The expanded enterprise definition of metadata, as used herein, is as follows: metadata is structured, semi-structured and unstructured data that describes the characteristics of a resource (external source) or asset (internal source); metadata is about knowledge, which is the ability to turn information and data into effective action. Metadata may provide information such as where an asset/resource is located, what primitive elements make up the asset/resource and how the asset/resource was developed or created.
Enterprise architectures may define a universe where assets are created by the technical community in a variety of forms. An asset is any person, place or thing within a particular enterprise community (e.g., the technical community, and the customer service representative community). Examples of assets that may be included for a technical community include databases, logical models, physical model, extensible markup language (XML) structures, software components, documents, metrics, systems and interfaces. A resource is similar to an asset, with the exception that resources come from outside of the enterprise, or organization. Resources that may be included for a technical community include research services, web services and packaged models. Enterprise business intelligence (EBI) may be built upon this foundation of assets and resources.
Currently, notification that metadata about an item (e.g., an asset or resource) in a repository has been deleted, added, or modified is accomplished by a librarian sending an email from a list or posting the information on a site. The first method requires a librarian to keep an up-to-date list of interested parties for each item in a repository and to send an email to the parties on the list when the metadata has changed. The second method, posting to a site, is commonly referred to as a pull strategy which forces the user to come to the site without any notification. This second method may result in random delays in proliferating information into the enterprise.